


Stumbling Along

by Duck_Life



Series: X-Men Shorties [5]
Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Rosenberg's Astonishing X-Men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 09:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17505911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duck_Life/pseuds/Duck_Life
Summary: Alex hates the twisted version of himself he became. Hates that no one listens to him. Hates being compared to his brother. (Hates that his brother's not around.)





	Stumbling Along

Alex sneaks away while Hank and Alison are retelling some story about Alison’s time as a gladiator and Jimmy is trying to fake interest. Alex just doesn't have the energy for that.

In the hall, he almost walks into Sean. “Jeez, sorry—” 

“You hide how much it upsets you,” Sean says bluntly. “Your inversion.” He barely ever speaks these days, and when he does it's cold and stilted, only a shadow of the cheerful Irish brogue Alex remembers.

“Y-yeah,” Alex agrees, scratching the back of his neck. “What, you know me that well?”

“I knew your brother better.” Sean considers him for a moment. “You are not like him.”

And God, that's all it takes to make him crumble like a paper bag. “Jesus, Sean,” he gasps, burying his hands in his face, because that's the awful ugly truth that he's been running from since he was fucking nine years old and Sean just lays it out like it's nothing.

Sean falters, something of his old self coming through. “Lad… I dinnae mean it as an insult.”

“How? How is it not an insult?” Alex throws back harshly.

“He’s gone. He can't do anything more to fix his mistakes,” Sean says simply. “You can.”


End file.
